JM Foundation

The JM Foundation was created by Jeremiah Milbank, co-founder of the Borden Milk Company, in 1924. Originally its mission was to help integrate people with disabilities from WWI into American life at a time where they were quite stigmatizing. He proponent of limited government and the "independent liberty" of Social Darwinist thought popular around universities like Yale during his age. "To realize his vision, The JM Foundation Directors support activities that foster self-sufficiency, personal responsibility, and private initiative."

Milbank helped Herbert Hoover found the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and served as their treasurer for 25 years.

According to its website, the Foundation’s current philanthropic goals "are to encourage market-oriented public policy solutions and to enhance America’s unique system of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, private property ownership, and voluntarism."

JM Foundation is a major right-wing funder. It's current executive director Carl Helstrom works as Vice President for programs at another major right-wing funder: the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

JM Foundation has assets of $27.3 million according to its latest IRS filing.

Ties to the Bradley Foundation

JM Foundation executive director Carl Helstrom works as Vice President for programs at the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. Bradley staff calls Helstrom in an internal document examined by the Center for Media and Democracy, "a longtime friend and institutional ally of Bradley's."

Bradley Files

In 2017, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), publishers of SourceWatch, launched a series of articles on the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, exposing the inner-workings of one of America's largest right-wing foundations. 56,000 previously undisclosed documents laid bare the Bradley Foundation's highly politicized agenda. CMD detailed Bradley's efforts to map and measure right wing infrastructure nationwide, including by dismantling and defunding unions to impact state elections; bankrolling discredited spin doctor Richard Berman and his many front groups; and more. Find the series here at ExposedbyCMD.org.

Ties to the State Policy Network

JM Foundation has deep ties to the State Policy Network. JM Foundation executive director Carl Helstrom is Chairman of the Board at SPN. Between 2010 and 2018, JM Foundation gave $825,000 to SPN and more than this in grants to SPM member organizations.

SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of October 2019, SPN's membership totals 162. Today's SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party. SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told the Wall Street Journal in 2017 that the revenue of the combined groups was some $80 million, but a 2019 analysis of SPN's main members IRS filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that the combined revenue is over $120 million. Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.

In response to CMD's report, SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told national and statehouse reporters that SPN affiliates are "fiercely independent." Later the same week, however, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer caught Sharp in a contradiction. In her article, "Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?," the Pulitzer-nominated reporter revealed that, in a recent meeting behind closed doors with the heads of SPN affiliates around the country, Sharp "compared the organization’s model to that of the giant global chain IKEA." She reportedly said that SPN "would provide 'the raw materials,' along with the 'services' needed to assemble the products. Rather than acting like passive customers who buy finished products, she wanted each state group to show the enterprise and creativity needed to assemble the parts in their home states. 'Pick what you need,' she said, 'and customize it for what works best for you.'" Not only that, but Sharp "also acknowledged privately to the members that the organization's often anonymous donors frequently shape the agenda. 'The grants are driven by donor intent,' she told the gathered think-tank heads. She added that, often, 'the donors have a very specific idea of what they want to happen.'"

A set of coordinated fundraising proposals obtained and released by The Guardian in early December 2013 confirm many of these SPN members' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes.

Grants Distributed

JM Foundation provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to non-profits each year, many of which have ties to the right-wing. JM Foundation lists its grant priorities on its website as "supporting education and research that fosters market-based policy solutions, especially at state think tanks; developing state and national organizations that promote free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and private initiative; and identifying and educating young leaders."

2018

Grantees:

• America’s Future Foundation: $25,000 "To support educational activities"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: $250,000 "Toward leadership development at local clubs"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $8,000 "For youth services"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $25,000 "To support the Jasper County Boys & Girls Club"
• Capitol Learning Academy: $10,000 "Toward educational programs"
• Commonwealth Foundation: $25,000 "To advance freedom and free enterprise in Pennsylvania"
• Empire Center: $25,000 "To advance freedom and free enterprise in New York"
• Encounter Books $10,000 "For publications"
• Foundation for Cultural Review: $7,500 "Toward educational activities"
• Fund for American Studies: $25,000 "To establish an Alumni Leadership Academy"
• Garden State Initiative: $25,000 "To advance freedom and free enterprise in New Jersey"
• Hoover Institution: $290,000 "To support Senior Research Fellows"
• Manhattan Institute: $25,000 "For the Adam Smith Society"
• South Carolina Coastal Conservation League: $60,000 "Toward educational activities"
• Yankee Institute: $25,000 "To advance freedom and free enterprise in Connecticut"

2017

Grantees:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $8,000 "For youth services"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $25,000 "To support the Jasper County Boys & Girls Club"
• Children’s Scholarship Fund: $10,000 "Toward educational scholarships"
• Classroom, Inc.: $25,000 "For educational programs"
• Commonwealth Foundation: $35,000 "To promote economic growth and public accountability"
• Encounter Books: $25,000 "To support publications"
• Foundation for Cultural Review: $35,000 "For publications and outreach programs"
• Fund for American Studies: $25,000 "To establish an Alumni Leadership Academy"
• Garden State Initiative: $35,000 "To increase freedom and free enterprise in New Jersey"
• Goldwater Institute: $35,000 "To promote freedom and free enterprise in Arizona"
• Hoover Institution: $290,000 "To support Senior Research Fellows"
• Intercollegiate Studies Institute: $5,000 "Toward educational activities"
• Manhattan Institute: $35,000 "For the Adam Smith Society"
• National Review Institute: $40,000 "To support On Campus Programs and help launch the Center for Unalienable Rights"
• Platte Institute: $35,000 "To evaluate the costs of government regulations"
• South Carolina Coastal Conservation League: $10,000 "For educational programs"
• St. Elizabeth Shelter: $10,000 "To assist homeless people with disabilities"
• State Policy Network: $100,000 "To foster freedom and free enterprise in the states"
• Turning Point USA: $10,000 "For educational activities on college campuses"
• William F. Buckley, Jr., Program at Yale University: $40,000 "Toward market research"
• Yankee Institute:$35,000 "To reduce public expenditures and promote private enterprise"

2016

Grantees:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $8,000 "for youth services"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $25,000 "to support the Jasper County Boys & Girls Club"
• Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation: $25,000 "to support the Coolidge Cup National Debate Championship"
• Commonwealth Foundation: $35,000 "to promote freedom and free enterprise in Pennsylvania"
• Foundation for Cultural Review: $35,000 "toward educational activities"
• Foundation for Economic Education: $35,000 "for Economics in One Day"
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $25,000 "for ongoing efforts to promote free speech on college campuses"
• Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity: $35,000 "to support investigative journalism"
• Hoover Institution: $40,000 "to support programs in Washington, DC, and for the research efforts of Victor Davis Hanson"
• Independent Women’s Forum: $5,000 "for a conference on character in political leadership"
• Mackinac Center: $35,000 "for educational activities"
• Manhattan Institute: $50,000 "toward the Adam Smith Society"
• Network of Enlightened Women: $40,000 "for campus chapter development"
• State Policy Network: $125,000 "to promote leadership development at state think tanks"
• Student Free Press Association: $35,000 "to enhance college journalism"
• Tax Foundation: $35,000 "toward the State Open Data Project"
• The Anglosphere Society: $2,000 "toward educational activities"
• Think Freely Media: $40,000 "for outreach to the Hispanic community"
• Turning Point USA: $10,000 "to support the Professor Watchlist"

2015

Grantees:

• American Enterprise Institute: $50,000 "To support educational programs"
• Anglosphere Society: $5,000 "Toward educational activities"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $7,500 "For youth services"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $30,000 "To support the Jasper County Boys & Girls Club"
• Center for Equal Opportunity: $15,000 "Toward educational activities"
• Civitas Institute: $40,000 "To support 'Mapping the Left'"
• Classroom, Inc.: $25,000 "For educational programs"
• DonorsTrust: $25,000 "Toward Talent Market"
• Encounter Books: $25,000 "To support publications"
• Federalist Society: $30,000 "Toward educational activities with state think tanks"
• Freedom Trust: $20,000 "To support graduate fellowships"
• Fund for American Studies: $50,000 "For the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program"
• Georgia Center for Opportunity : $40,000 "To support a 'Breakthrough Research Fellow'"
• Hoover Institution: $40,000 "Toward educational programs in Washington DC"
• Illinois Policy Institute: $40,000 For “Budget Solutions 2016”
• Institute for Humane Studies $40,000 "Toward the 'Find Scholars' Program"
• James Madison Institute: $40,000 "To support the Center for Educational Entrepreneurs"
• Just Facts: $20,000 "For educational programs"
• Leadership Project for America Foundation: $200,000 "To support education and research"
• Manhattan Institute: $50,000 "Toward the Adam Smith Society"
• National Review Institute: $35,000 "For collaborative partnerships"
• Network of Enlightened Women: $35,000 "To support educational programs"
• Nevada Policy Research Institute: $35,000 "To encourage educational savings accounts"
• St. Elizabeth Shelter: $5,000 "To assist homeless people with disabilities"
• State Policy Network: $125,000 "To strengthen state think tanks"
• Tax Foundation: $35,000 "To upgrade technical and information infrastructure"
• Thomas Jefferson Institute: $35,000 "To expand educational opportunity and school choice"
• Yankee Institute: $40,000 "Toward online activities"

2014

Grantees:

• America’s Future Foundation: $25,000 "Toward leadership development programs"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: $100,000 "To support leadership training"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $7,500 "To support youth services"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $25,000 "For the Jasper County Boys & Girls Club"
• Classroom, Inc.: $25,000 "Toward educational services for students"
• Commonwealth Foundation: $35,000 "For strategic communications"
• Empire Center: $35,000 "Toward policy research and SeeThroughNY.net"
• Encounter Books: $25,000 "For publications"
• Essentials in Education: $10,000 "For educational programs"
• Foundation For Cultural Review: $35,000 "Toward educational activities"
• Franklin Center For Government and Public Integrity: $25,000 "Toward cooperative programs with radio stations"
• FreedomWorks Foundation: $40,000 "To support youth outreach"
• Heritage Foundation: $25,000 "For coalition building"
• Hoover Institution: $40,000 'Toward educational programs in Washington, DC"
• Independent Women’s Forum: $35,000 "To improve America’s health care policies"
• Institute For Family Studies: $10,000 "To support Home Economics: Marriage and Free Enterprise"
• James Madison Institute: $40,000 "Toward the Center For Educational Entrepreneurs"
• Lord’s Place: $5,000 "To assist homeless individuals and their families"
• Lucy Burns Institute: $75,000 "To feature the work of State Policy Network members"
• National Review Institute: $35,000 "Toward regional partnership programs"
• Nevada Policy Research Institute: $35,000 "To support Solutions 2015"
• New York Eye and Ear Infirmary: $5,000 "To support the research of Dr. Richard Rosen"
• Platte Institute: $35,000O "For the Roadmap To Pension Reform Initiative"
• Reason Foundation: $35,000 "For the public pension reform project"
• Rio Grande Foundation: $35,000 "To expand the web-based 'Liberty Index'"
• South Carolina Policy Council: $35,000 "To enhance video and web-based communications"
• State Budget Solutions: $35,000 "To support public pension reform"
• State Policy Network: $125,000 "To strengthen state think tanks"
• Washington Policy Center: $35,000 "Toward the Center For Government Reform"

2013

Grantees:

• American Enterprise Institute: $50,000 "Toward the Road to Freedom Project"
• Atlas Economic Research Foundation: $30,000 "For the Atlas Leadership Academy"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: $100,000 "Toward leadership training"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $7,500 "To support youth services"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $25,000 "For the Jasper County Boys & Girls Club"
• Civitas Institute: $30,000 "For educational activities designed to reduce the size and scope of government"
• DonorsTrust: $25,000 "To support Talent Market"
• Empire Center: $40,000 "To launch the Center as an independent nonprofit organization"
• Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies: $40,000 "Toward educational activities with state think tanks"
• Foundation for Cultural Review: $35,000 "To support The New Criterion"
• Freedom Foundation: $30,000 "To support citizen leadership training"
• Fund For American Studies: $40,000 "For Robert Novak Journalism Fellowships"
• Goldwater Institute: $65,000 "Toward research, strategic litigation, and educational efforts that limit federal power ($30,000) and to advance freedom through the courts ($35,000)"
• Hoover Institution: $40,000 "To support educational activities in Washington, DC"
• Illinois Policy Institute: $30,000 "For tax reform"
• Independent Institute: $35,000 "To support Let’s Make a Deal: Ending America’s Entitlement Spending Crisis"
• Lucy Burns Institute: $30,000 "To feature the work of State Policy Network members"
• Philanthropic Enterprise: $25,000 "To expand research and education"
• Pioneer Institute: $35,000 "For research on health care reform"
• Rising Tide Capital $35,000 "To foster entrepreneurship in low-income communities"
• SparkFreedom: $25,000 "For the CommunicationSpark Program"
• St. Elizabeth Shelter: $3,000 "To assist homeless adults with disabilities"
• State Policy Network: $100,000 "Toward 'Building the Permanent Freedom Majority'”
• Trudeau Institute: $5,000 "To support research"
• William F. Buckley, Jr. Program: $5,000 "Toward educational programs"
• Wisconsin Policy Research Institute: $25,000 "To foster educational opportunities for students with disabilities"

2012

Grantees:

• America’s Future Foundation: $15,000 "Toward educational programs"
• American Enterprise Institute: $40,000 "To support The Road to Freedom Project"
• American Principles Project: $15,000 "For research on pension reform"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: $100,000 "For the Advanced Leadership Program"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $5,000 "To support youth services"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $25,000 'For the Jasper County Boys & Girls Club"
• Cascade Policy Institute: $30,000 "For research on replacing state taxes with user fees"
• Civitas Institute: $30,000 "To reform North Carolina’s income taxes"
• Classroom Inc.: $25,000 "To expand technology-based education programs"
• Common Sense Institute of New Jersey: $30,000 "For education reform in New Jersey"
• Commonwealth Foundation: $30,000 "To support education reform in Pennsylvania"
• Disability Funders Network: $5,000 "To support disaster relief for people with disabilities"
• Encounter Books: $20,000 "For marketing and distribution of books on freedom and free enterprise"
• George Mason University-Mercatus Center: $35,000 "To publish Freedom in the 50 States"
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: $35,000 "Toward educational activities"
• Heritage Foundation: $25,000 "For coalition building"
• Hoover Institution: $40,000 "Toward the Task Force on Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity"
• Illinois Policy Institute: $30,000 "For the 'Illinois Turnaround Campaign and Tour'”
• Institute for Humane Studies: $40,000 "Toward summer internships and policy research"
• Institute for Justice: $25,000 "To launch the Center for Judicial Engagement"
• Institute for Responsible Citizenship: $25,000 "To support the Summer Leadership Program"
• Intercollegiate Studies Institute: $25,000 "To support 'Leadership for America’s Future'"
• James Madison Institute: $30,000 'To explore Florida’s options under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
• Lucy Burns Institute: $30,000 "To feature research of State Policy Network members"
• Manhattan Institute: $50,000 "For educational programs"
• Monmouth County Boy Scouts of America: $5,000 "To benefit programs of the Twin Lights District of Monmouth County, BSA"
• Nevada Policy Research Institute: $30,000 "To support 'Platform for Prosperity 2013'"
• Philanthropic Enterprise: $30,000 "To expand research and education"
• Philanthropy Roundtable: $25,000 "Toward the Alliance for Charitable Reform"
• Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity: $25,000 "To advance economic reform"
• South Carolina Policy Council: $30,000 "To enhance communications and media outreach"
• State Policy Network: $100,000 "For 'Building the Permanent Freedom Majority'”
• Tax Foundation: $30,000 "Toward the Internship Program"
• Thomas Jefferson Institute: $30,000 "To advance school choice"
• Vincent Memorial Hospital: $10,000 'For research fellowships"

2011

• Alexander Hamilton Society: $20,000 "To support educational activities"
• American Legislative Exchange Council: $30,000 "To work with state think tanks"
• American Spectator Foundation: $5,000 "For investigative research and internships"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: $100,000 "Toward the Advanced Leadership Program"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $7,500 "To support the Milbank Society"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $25,000 "Toward the Jasper County Boys & Girls Club"
• Cato Institute: $25,000 "To work with state think tanks on health care policy"
• Center for Competitive Politics: $25,000 "To produce a video on free speech"
• Center for Equal Opportunity: $25,000 "For educational programs"
• Common Sense Institute of New Jersey: $25,000 "Toward K-12 education reform"
• Commonwealth Foundation: $25,000 "To expand school choice"
• DonorsTrust:$25,000 "To support Talent Market"
• Freedom Foundation: $25,000 "For a citizen leadership initiative"
• FreedomWorks Foundation: $40,000 "To support the FreedomConnector"
• Fund for American Studies: $40,000 "To enhance recruitment"
• Gettysburg College: $5,000 "Toward The Gettysburg Seminar"
• Goldwater Institute: $25,000 "For education savings accounts"
• Hoover Institution: $40,000 "For the Task Force on Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity"
• Independent Institute: $25,000 "To support the Government Cost Calculator"
• Intellectual Takeout: $25,000 "To enhance online educational programs"
• Just Facts: $15,000 "Toward educational programs"
• Maryland Public Policy Institute: $25,000 "For research on public pension liabilities"
• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship: $25,000 "To launch the 'Start Up Summer' Pilot Program"
• Pioneer Institute: $25,000 "To publish a book on the impact of health care reform in Massachusetts"
• Prometheus Institute: $25,000 "To support the DIY Democracy Program"
• Property and Environment Research Center: $15,000 "Toward the Enviropreneur Institute
• Rio Grande Foundation: $25,000 "To improve higher education"
• State Policy Network: $75,000 "To assist market-oriented state think tanks"
• Texas Public Policy Foundation: $40,000 "To create the Laffer Center for Supply-Side Economics"
• Vincent Memorial Hospital: $10,000 "For research fellowships"
• William F. Buckley, Jr. Program: $5,000 "For educational activities"
• Wisconsin Policy Research Institute: $25,000 "Toward Refocus Wisconsin"
• Young America’s Foundation: $25,000 "To support the Reagan 100 Initiative"

2010

Grantees:

• American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research: $40,000
• American Spectator Foundation: $25,000
• America's Future Foundation: $20,000 "To expand state chapters"
• Atlas Economic Research Foundation: $30,000
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: $150,000 "Toward The Executive Leadership Development Initiative"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia: $5,000 "For youth services"
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry: $25,000 "To support the Jasper County Boys & Girls Clubs"
• Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions: $25,000 "To increase economic freedom and entrepreneurship"
• Common Sense Institute of New Jersey: $30,000 "For research on educational choice and government transparency"
• DonorsTrust: $60,000 "To promote patient-centered health care and assist emerging young journalists"
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: $30,000 "To support high school programs"
• The Heritage Foundation: $25,000 "For coalition building"
• Herbert Hoover Presidential Library: $2,500 "To support the Uncommon Awards Program"
• Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace: $40,000 "For the Task Force On Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity"
• Illinois Policy Institute: $30,000 "Toward economic reform"
• Institute for Humane Studies: $30,000 "For internships at state think tanks"
• Institute for Responsible Citizenship: $25,000 "To support summer programs for college students"
• Intercollegiate Studies Institute: $25,000 "For the Lehrman American Studies Center"
• LCU Foundation: $5,000 "Toward an educational video"
• Manhattan Institute: $50,000 "To launch the Center for State and Local Leadership"
• Mississippi Center for Public Policy: $30,000 "To reduce the size and scope of state government"
• National Taxpayers Union Foundation: $25,000 "For entitlement reform"
• Philanthropy Roundtable: $25,000 "To support the Alliance for Charitable Reform"
• South Carolina Policy Council: $25,000 "Toward a statewide marketing campaign"
• State Policy Network: $75,000 "To strengthen state think tanks"
• Vincent Memorial Hospital: $10,000 "For research fellowships"
• Young America's Foundation: $25,000 "For the Reagan 100 Initiative"

Personnel

As of June 2019:

Staff

• Carl Helstrom, Executive Director and Assistant Treasurer
• Chris Olander, Executive Director Emeritus and Assistant Secretary

Former Staff

• Carmel Mazzola, Administrative Assistant
• Vicki Puluso, Administrative Assistant
• Jack Brauntuch, Special Counselor

Directors

• Jeremiah Milbank III, President
• Jeremiah M. Bogert, Vice President
• Peter C. Morse, Secretary and Treasurer

Former Directors

• Jeremiah Milbank, Jr., President Emeritus
• Wm. Lee Hanley, Jr., Treasurer
• Mary Caslin Ross

Contact Details

JM Foundation
The JM Foundation
116 Village Boulevard – Suite 200
Princeton, NJ 08540
Website: http://fdnweb.org/jm/
Phone: 609-951-2283

Articles and Resources

IRS Form 990 Filings

2017

2016

2015

2014